Bodies journalist, Lop condemns Jatt’s brutality in Kawpepe

Kampala, Uganda | Independent | The journalist bodies and the opposition leader condemned the brutal attacks of the common anti-terrorist taskforce (JATT) on the journalists covering the nominations in the Kawpe’s secondary elections. On Wednesday, confrontations broke out between the supporters of the national candidate Unity Platform (NUP), Erias Luyimbaazi Nalukoola, shortly after its nomination in the secondary parliamentary elections in northern Kawpe.

Security forces, including Jatt operators, used live and tear gas bullets to disperse the crowds and arrested Nalukola. In this process, journalists covering the event were violently assaulted. The TV journalist, Miracle Ibra, suffered a severe eye injury after being hit by a suspected object to be a container of tear. Since then he has been hospitalized at Nsambya Hospital, where he is scheduled to undergo three surgery.

Speaking with the representatives of the Association of Journalists in Uganda (UJA), the human rights network for journalists (HRNJ) and the opposition leader Joel Ssenyonyi, Ibra expressed his fears because of the damage to his eyes. Ssenyonyi strongly condemned the actions of security operators, especially Jatt, saying that the force is trained to deal with terrorism, not elections or civilians.

The president of HRNJ, Robert Ssempala, decided the growing tendency of the journalists who was targeted when he covered opposition events. He accused the security agencies of treating the media as state enemies, citing past cases where journalists like Jimmy Akena and Andrew Lwanga have suffered injuries that can change life on the hands of security forces.

“Journalists are targeted once they cover the events of the opposition. They see them as enemies of the state; They will have the news to have only one color. Most of us, like Jimmy Akena, is now disabled and can do nothing. Andrew Lwanga will never be the same. I have never met those who have perpetuated this violence against them, “said Ssempala. He asked the owners of the Media House to use their fiscal contributions as a lever to request government actions against repeated violations of human rights targeting journalists.

Other journalists who visited Ibra have committed to follow the case to ensure justice for their injured colleague. In a related development, the High Court of Kampala decided in November last year that the government and eight soldiers have to compensate for journalists approved while covering an event involving NUP leader Robert Kyagulanyi.

The Boniface Wamala justice found that the actions of the soldiers violated the constitutional rights of journalists, including the freedom of the press, and ordered the government to cover their legal costs.

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URN